Prepaid Telephony System and Method of Activating a Prepaid Telephony Account

ABSTRACT

A prepaid telephony system and a method of activating a prepaid telephony account are disclosed. In a particular embodiment, the method of activating the prepaid telephony account includes providing a message to a caller including an offer to associate a prepaid account corresponding to a prepaid calling card with an origination address of the caller.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present application claims priority from and is a continuation ofpatent application Ser. No. 10/714,492, filed on Nov. 14, 2003 andentitled “Prepaid Telephony System and Method of Activating A PrepaidTelephony Account,” the contents of which are expressly incorporatedherein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF DISCLOSURE

This disclosure, in general, relates to prepaid telephony systems andmethods of activating prepaid telephony accounts.

BACKGROUND

Prepaid calling cards and other prepaid telephony services are widelyused as a budgeting tool or by consumers lacking credit worthiness.Certain prepaid calling cards have been customized to provide rates thatare advantageous for particular types of use. For example, consumers maypurchase prepaid calling cards having rate plans adapted forstate-to-state long distance calling. In another example, consumers maypurchase cards having rate plans enhanced for calling specific foreigncountries, such as, Mexico.

Despite their mobility, prepaid calling plans are most frequently usedat a users or a consumer's residence. According to some market studies,a majority of long distance calls made using a prepaid calling cardservices are made from the home of the consumer.

In response to the size of the prepaid calling card market, an abundanceof calling card providers has surfaced. Each of these calling cardproviders may provide one or more calling cards having specific planenhancements. In such a market, it is often difficult for any onecalling card provider to encourage customer loyalty. This lack ofcustomer loyalty increases marketing costs, thereby increasing the costfor providing the calling card service.

Some calling card service providers attempt to pass this cost ontoconsumers by charging additional fees. For example, some calling cardservice providers charge a weekly maintenance fee to calling cardaccounts. Other service providers may charge a fee to initially place acall. In another example, service providers may charge a higher fee fortime used at the beginning of a call and a low fee for later minutes. Ina further example, service providers may charge a flat fee for aspecified length of the call, such as the first 10 minutes, and charge alower rate for use in excess of the specified call length. Each of thesemethods may be confusing and upsetting to consumers, furtherexacerbating the problem of low customer loyalty. As such, an improvedprepaid system and method would be desirable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a prepaid calling system.

FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 depict exemplary methods for use inconjunction with a prepaid calling card system.

FIGS. 8A and 8B depict exemplary embodiments of a telephony network.

FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a service switch point.

FIG. 10 depicts an exemplary billing statement.

FIG. 11 depicts an exemplary account.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a prepaid enabled telephony system is illustrated.The system includes a prepaid card 102, prepaid account 104, and endsubscriber telephone device 106. The prepaid card may be a wallet sizedcard in the form of a credit card or similar type device that storesprepaid card information. Alternatively, the prepaid card may be acredit card shaped plastic card with prepaid numeric information printedon the front or back of the card. In addition, the prepaid card may bebranded based on a service provider offering a prepaid telephonyservice. The prepaid account 104 may be implemented as data stored in acomputer memory. The data may include the prepaid account balance, whichmay be represented in available minutes in or available fees for use byan owner or user of the prepaid card 102. The prepaid account may beincorporated within a telephony service such as a long distance serviceoffered through use of an end-subscriber device such as the illustratedtelephone device 106.

Referring to FIG. 2, a method of providing a prepaid service isillustrated. The method includes a step of receiving a call from acaller at a prepaid service destination address identified by prepaidcalling card, as shown at step 202. A prepaid card number may berequested, as shown at step 204. This request may be in the form of anautomated prompt, such as a computer-generated message from aninteractive voice response telephony unit. Similarly, a destinationnumber may be requested as shown at step 206. The origination address ofthe caller is then received at 208. The origination address may be atelephone number, such as a subscriber's home phone number or othersimilar identifying address. At decision step 210, the originationaddress is compared to address criteria. The address criteria mayinclude restrictions on available address such as whether the address isa resident or whether the address is at a pay phone. At step 214, anoffer is made to the caller to associate a prepaid calling card accountwith the origination address. The offer may be made by a voice promptunit as with the other message prompts described above. Alternatively,the offer may be made by a live human operator using a call centerinterconnected into the call path. At decision step 216, the response tothe offer is evaluated. If the evaluation response is no, then a call isplaced as at step 212. If the response to the offer is yes, thenprocessing continues to step 218 where a PIC code is changed. Inaddition, the caller may request a PIN at 220, receive a PIN at 222, andmay store the PIN for future reference at 224. Thereafter, the call isplaced at 212. In the scenario where the address criteria at decisionstep 210 is not met, then a call is placed at 212 without making theprepaid card offer. The call placed at step 212 may be a long distancecall from a caller located at the origination address to a remotetelephony connection identified by the destination number. In addition,the prepaid card number requested at step 204 may be a prepaid accesscard such as a toll free number printed on the front of a prepaidcalling card. The above-described prepaid method of operation describesa first use of a prepaid calling card. For subsequent use, the change inPIC code at step 218 may be used for call routing for subsequent longdistance calls where credit is obtained through use of the prepaidaccount.

Referring to FIG. 3, a method for using and activating a prepaid card isillustrated. A prepaid calling card is distributed at 302 and theprepaid card is activated at 304. The activated prepaid card isassociated with a prepaid card account and a network access point at306. The prepaid card account may be recharged to provide furtheravailable telephony usage at 308.

Referring to FIG. 4, a method of handling a long distance call where aprepaid calling system is used is illustrated. A long distance callrequest is received at 402. The long distance call request may becommunicated over a telephony network such as a telephone communicationsystem. A prepaid long distance service code may be retrieved from aswitch control point that is coupled to the telephony network. Forexample, the switch control point may be accessed at 404 and the prepaidPIC code is received from the SCP at step 406. The call request is thenconnected to the prepaid calling system at 408, based on the prepaid PICcode. Charging information is sent to the prepaid calling system, at410. In this manner, the PIC code from the switch control point isrouted to the prepaid call system for selection of the appropriate longdistance carrier to handle the prepaid call.

Referring to FIG. 5, a method of increasing units available in a prepaidcalling card account is shown. A user receives access to the account atstep 502 and a card account number is requested at step 504. The cardaccount number is received at step 506 and a request for paymentinformation is generated at step 508. The payment information isreceived at step 510 and time or other available units is allotted tothe prepaid calling card at step 512. The payment information forrecharging the prepaid card may be credit card information or mayinclude a local telephone bill such as a local exchange carrier (LEC)account.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary method of prepaid card use. A telephonysystem receives a call request and a card identity, as shown in step602. For example, a card holder may call a primary access address suchas a toll-free phone number. Alternately, the card holder may dialdirect from home and be automatically connected to the telephony system.The telephony system may then prompt the card holder for a card numberor identify the card number through a feature request.

Once the card is identified, the telephony system may test to determinewhether prepaid time is available in an account associated with thecalling card, as shown at step 604. If the prepaid time is available oris not out or expired, the call may be connected, as shown at step 606.

The system may then test to determine whether an alert time thresholdhas been met, as shown at step 608. The alert time threshold may, forexample, be set at a number of minutes or an amount of dollars remainingin the account. When the remaining prepaid time or amount drops belowthe threshold, the system may alert the user, as shown at step 610. Forexample, the system may send a beep or alert sound to the receiver ofthe card holder. Alternately, a message may be played to the card holdindicating a number of minutes or amount of time remaining.

If the threshold test of step 608 is not met or the alert has beenplayed, the system may test for remaining time again, as shown at step604. Once the prepaid time or amount has expired, the call may bedisconnect, as shown at step 612. The card holder may be prompted torecharge the account. If the user responds affirmatively, the accountmay be recharged. For example, the user may supply a credit card numberfor charging an additional prepaid amount. Alternately, if the card hasbeen linked to a local telephone address, the card holder may authorizethe recharge fee to been billed to the account. In one exemplaryembodiment, the system would then test to determine if the local accountis in good standing or test other credit worthiness related factors todetermine whether recharging through local account billing ispermissible. If payment or charge authorization is received, the systemmay recharge the account. In one exemplary embodiment, the system maythen reconnect the call.

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary method for managing a prepaid account. Calldata is received from the local exchange carrier, as shown at step 702.Call data is also received from the card system, as shown at 704. Usageis allocated units from the prepaid units, as shown at step 706. Forexample, prepaid units may be minutes allocated to minutes of use.Alternately, monetary equivalents may be allocated to use based on a perunit time rate. In one embodiment, the system may receive authorizationto recharge the account, as shown at step 708, through a credit card orthrough an associated local exchange carrier bill.

FIG. 8A illustrates an exemplary telephony system. A receiver 802 mayhave an associated network address and may access a service switch point804. Long distance calls from the receiver 802 may be routed through theservice switch point to a long distance carrier system 810 in accordancewith a presubmitted interexchange carrier (PIC) code.

The receiver 802 may alternately have a prepaid presubmittedinterexchange carrier (PIC) code associated with long distance service.When a direct dialed or one plus (1+) long distance call is made usingthe receiver 802, the service switch point 804 may determine which longdistance service to use. In one exemplary embodiment, the service switchpoint 804 may access the long distance service via the calling cardprepaid system 808. The calling card prepaid system 808 may thendetermine if time is available and selectively connect the call.

In an alternate embodiment, the service switch point 804 may access thelong distance system 810. The long distance system 810 may perform afeature inquiry and access the calling card prepaid system 808 todetermine service availability. Then, the long distance carrier system810 may selectively connect the call.

FIG. 8B illustrates an exemplary telephony system. A subscriber phone820 accesses a switch 822 to initiate a call. If the subscriber dials a1+number and has an associated PIC, such as a prepaid PIC, the switch822 accesses a Tandem 824 intermediary to the interexchange carrier. Thetandem 824 selects a trunk line based on the prepaid PIC. A switch 826located at the interexchange carrier determines account information and,if a balance is available, initiates the call to phone 836. In oneexemplary embodiment, the switch 826 may include an AIN that triggersaction on inbound trunk calls. The switch 826 may identify a subscriberusing the subscriber's phone number or other account information, forexample. The switch 826 may access a SCP or SLD 830 through an STP 828.The SCP 830 may accesses a database 832 to determine accountinformation, such as available time. The SCP 830 may further access thedatabase 832 to store usage data. To inform a user of usage and providewhisper messages, the system may access a PPD 834 or an IVR.

In one exemplary embodiment, the system is an SS7 compatible system. Inanother exemplary embodiment, the system may be implemented as a Voiceover Internet Protocol (VoIP) system with a gateway, softswitch, andmedia server. The media server may bridge in for mid-call supervision orimplement a 3-way whisper.

FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary service switch point. The service switchpoint 902 includes one or more processors 904, one or more networkinterfaces 906, and switch translations 908. The switch translations 908are computer readable memory for storing a line translation 910. Theline translation 910 may include a network address such as a telephonenumber and an associated presubmitted interexchange carrier (PIC) code914. The associated PIC code 914 may be a prepaid PIC code. When acaller places a long distance call from a network address matching thenetwork address 912, the service control point 902 identifies theprepaid PIC code 912 and directs the use of the prepaid calling systemin placing the call.

FIG. 10 depicts an exemplary billing statement 1002 that includessubscriber information 1004, a prepaid summary 1006, calling card callinformation 1008, landline long distance information 1010, localexchange carrier (LEC) service information 1012, other serviceinformation 1014, and accounting information 1016.

The subscriber information 1004 may include a subscriber's mailingaddress, network address, name, and personal information. The prepaidsummary 1006 may include information such as an amount of allottedunits, unit usage, remaining units, and incremental additions of units.The calling card calls information 1008 may include data relating tophone calls made using the prepaid calling card at locations other thanthe network address. The landline long distance information 1010 mayidentify calls made from the network address using the prepaid cardservice.

The billing statement 1002 may also include LEC service information 1012identifying charges for features associated with the network address.Other service information 1014 may identify charges associated withother services such as internet, cable, wireless, and wireless fidelity(WiFi) service. The accounting information 1016 may include a billtotal, previous payments, and previous amounts owed.

FIG. 11 depicts an exemplary account 1102. The account 1102 may includesubscriber information 1104, allotted prepaid units information 1106,card information 1108, network address information 1110, rechargeinformation 1112, and line of credit information 1114. The subscriberinformation 1104 may include a subscriber's mailing address, networkaddress, name, and personal information. The allotted prepaid unitsinformation 1106 may include an amount of remaining units for use inconnection with a telephony service or WiFi service. The cardinformation 1108 may include a card number and a personal identificationnumber (PIN) or password. A network address may be associated with theprepaid account to permit direct dialing from the network address usingthe prepaid units. The network address information 1110 may include thenetwork address and a specific password or PIN for accessing the prepaidservice via that network address. A card holder may store credit cardinformation or recharge preference information in the rechargeinformation 1112. This information may be used to recharge a card viacredit card or through billing an account associated with the networkaddress. In one exemplary embodiment, the card may also have access to aline of credit. The line of credit may be used to access cash through anautomated teller machine (ATM), pay for purchase like a credit card, orpay for prepaid minute recharging. Information 1114 associated with theline of credit may be stored in the account.

The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments that fall within thetrue spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, to the maximumextent allowed by law, the scope of the present invention is to bedetermined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the followingclaims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited bythe foregoing detailed description.

1. A method of activating a prepaid telephony account, the method comprising providing a message to a caller including an offer to associate a prepaid account corresponding to a prepaid calling card with an origination address of the caller.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a response to the message from the caller.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising associating a long distance service code with the origination address of the caller based on the response to the message.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the long distance service code is a presubmitted interexchange carrier code.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: requesting a personal identification number from the caller; receiving the personal identification number from the caller; and storing the personal identification number.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising evaluating the origination address with respect to an address criterion.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the address criterion is used to screen payphones.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the address criterion is used to identify customers of a particular service vendor.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the origination address is associated with a subscriber residential telephone device.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing a second message to the caller, the message including a request to change a selected long distance carrier from a first long distance carrier to a second long distance carrier.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing a second message to the caller, the message including a request to change a selected local service provider from a first local service provider to a second local service provider.
 12. The method of claim 1, further comprising assigning a prepaid class of service to a subscriber account identified by the origination address.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the message is provided to the caller via an automated prompt.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the automated prompt comprises a computer-generated message from an interactive voice response unit.
 15. A computer-readable medium to store data comprising a prepaid account, the prepaid account comprising recharge information including local exchange carrier account information.
 16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the prepaid account further comprises prepaid usage data to determine a quantity of prepaid usage units available to use in a telephony service.
 17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein an eligibility to purchase additional prepaid usage units is determined based at least in part upon a payment status check of a subscriber associated with the local exchange carrier account information.
 18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein a quantity of additional prepaid usage units that a subscriber is eligible to purchase is determined based at least in part on a test of credit worthiness-related factors.
 19. A prepaid calling card comprising: a unique identification number identifying a prepaid account having an allotment of prepaid usage units for use in connection with a telephony service; wherein the prepaid calling card is associated with a prepaid account stored in a computer system, the prepaid account including recharge information including local exchange carrier account information.
 20. The prepaid calling card of claim 19, wherein the recharge information includes credit card information. 